Have you ever been labeled? Maybe you can't let go of something from your past. A current situation may hold you back. And no matter how hard you've tried, the less-than-favorable description sticks. The label burdens your present and will mark your future. Unless… Unless God miraculously removes it.
Elizabeth and Zechariah (Luke 1) had been married for a very long time, but she had never been able to conceive. This stigma was far worse in the first century than it is today. The neighbors thought she had surely done something wrong – that she deserved to be childless. Her situation brought shame and sorrow, and she and Zechariah worried for their future. Who would care for them in their old age?
But God intervened. His supernatural power collided with the physical world. Elizabeth's womb was opened. A son would be born. A son would be born to a woman who may have even been in her 60s! (Luke 1:7)
And this son would not simply be another Jewish boy. This son would be a prophet of the Most High God. This son would herald the coming of the Messiah.
When the angel Gabriel visited Mary, he told her about God's miraculous work in Elizabeth's life.
"Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God." (Luke 1:36-37)
Do you think Elizabeth's neighbors continued calling her "barren" behind her back? Imagine how they reacted to the protruding belly of this senior citizen. Elizabeth's label did not simply fall away. God ripped it off with divine flair!
Did you take note of Gabriel's words? "Nothing is impossible with God." NOTHING! That includes everything and anything in your life. Your past does not have to dictate your present or your future. God is able.
How has your past defined your present? What label do you need God to remove today?
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